Classroom subject areas
There’s nothing like a good festival! We rarely miss the Insect Festival at the University of Arkansas. Here, the kids give actors in the Insect Theater a hug. The Insect Festival is an opportunity for the students in the entomology department to share their enthusiasm for arthropods with schoolchildren… Continue reading
A visit to the zoo may be the ultimate field trip. We went to the Kansas City Zoo, which is designed to make visitors feel that they’ve been all around the world in one day. Interpretive exhibits take you from an Australian sheep farm to an African house, with… Continue reading
We love science museums and discovery centers! Whether it’s the stuffy old fashioned Museum of Natural History with stuffed creatures in glass cases or the hands-on kind, a science museum is always a pleasure. Science City is like a science playground. Science City’s website — well, let’s just say they… Continue reading
Sure, there were bucking broncos and bulls to ride, but our favorite things at the Rodeo of the Ozarks were the sheep and the goats. Muttonbusting is an event in which little buckaroos attempt to ride sheep. It was a muddy evening when we went, so the kids were attempting… Continue reading
I’ve just read The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game by Lee Sheldon. Sheldon, who teaches video game design, set up his whole classroom as a multiplayer game in which students went on quests and leveled to the next highest grade. He has written a book about it… Continue reading
Field trips used to be a major part of school excitement, and they can be wonderful learning opportunities. At many schools, though, the cost of fuel and NCLB have made field trips a rarity, and they have to be defended with strong, clear ties to standards and benchmarks. One… Continue reading
Here’s a PowerPoint I wrote for Happiness.org — and also for my writing class. It takes students through the basic writing process, from prewriting through editing. You are welcome to use it in your classes, or just for inspiration. Happiness : a Writing Experience Here are some more approaches I… Continue reading
When we introduce a story in the classroom, we like to give students the opportunity to retell it. There are lots of ways to approach this, and storytelling masks add easy drama to readers theater, tableaux vivants, dramatic play, or dramatic retellings. Getting the masks In the photo above… Continue reading
The story of Atlantis, the wonderful kingdom that sank beneath the ocean, captures student imaginations and provides terrific teachable moments for science, literature, and social studies. The only written record of Atlantis, and the origin of the story, is in the Dialogues of the Greek philosopher Plato, where he writes… Continue reading
For kindergarten, science is about exploration, observation, and wonderful surprises. Get outdoors and try some great summer science experiences with your kids! Many of these will be suited to preK and elementary as well. Have each child find a flat object with a clear shape. Lay the objects on… Continue reading
